Photo used for illustrative purpose.

The 2022 Saudi census marks the "most comprehensive and precise population survey conducted in the Kingdom's history," the General Authority of Statistics said. It set the total population of the Kingdom at 32.2 million.

Of these, 58.4 per cent are Saudi nationals and most others are from South Asia or elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim told a press conference in Riyadh that the latest census was the most comprehensive and accurate census in the kingdom's history. "Its outputs will be a key pillar for planning and decision-making ... and supporting the investment environment in the kingdom," Al Ibrahim said.

The total resident population is up 34.2 per cent since 2010 — an increase of 8.2 million people, of whom 4.8 million are Saudi nationals. Among Saudis, 63 per cent of the population is below the age of 30.

Non-Saudi nationals account for 13.4 million, the majority of whom are Bangladeshis, followed by Indians, Pakistanis, Yemenis and Egyptians.

The national census, the fifth in the kingdom's history, was initially scheduled to be held in 2020 but was postponed because of the Covid pandemic.

Saudi Arabia conducted its first official census in 1974.

Agence France-Presse